Controversy
by CreationsGoneAwry
Summary: Frey and Doug are going to hold their wedding in just a little over a month, and the two can't be any happier. However, it turns out both have secrets from the past they've been hiding from each other, and when a tragedy strikes, they're unsure of what to do. T for content and language. Multiple pairings.
1. Impending Wedding

**A/N: **Hello! Welcome to my newest story, Controversy! It stars the characters from RF4 (really all of them, probably excluding Venti though for emotional/other story purposes) and their hardships and struggles. Hmm..let's see. It's supposed to be a crappy romance fic with a bunch of angst and misunderstanding and drama, so let's see how it goes.

I'm actually not sure, myself, of what the main couples are going to be...hehe. I adore both LeonxFrey and DougxFrey so there'll obviously be some tug-of-war happening, but for side pairings I really like the idea of bringing in Forte and Clorica. Not the two of them together, mind you, but eesh. If I start talking about plans I'm going to end up spoiling the whole thing haha. Let's just say you can expect a love pentagon.

And sadly I'm still in that stage of my writing where I want to try out melancholy and dark themes, so this won't be a very lighthearted story. For the first few chapters it will, but then it'll evolve into something more. Keep your eyes peeled! Thanks so much for reading, everybody! Hope you stick with me, even though my updating schedule is...well, I don't _have _one lol. I never stick to them so I don't even bother making one. My only rule for all my stories is I update an old or post a new story at least **once per month**. Now that's not once per month per story, that's total! aha, if you look at my profile you'll see I have like...one update a month or a new story every few weeks or whatever. It depends on my own schedule and mood!

First chapter is short and kinda crappy cuz that's just what happens during the intros of all my stories. Haha just deal with it and expect better chapters in the future. Gonna try and make em all right around 3k, if not longer.

I'll stop ranting. Sorry! Enjoy :)

* * *

**Controversy**

Everybody in town saw the proposal, saw how happy the two in love seemed to be, how excited old Blossom was to send off her practical son.

Doug shouted it down from the rooftop, and Frey shouted back up from the ground, giving him the answer he undeniably wanted to hear the most.

The wedding was to take place in just over a month, giving the two enough time to plan out everything accordingly, including getting the tailor to properly design and fit the clothes and the marriage license from the capital allowing them to marry.

However, the time limit for Doug to join her in her castle room was very short, being only a few days. And Frey couldn't wait.

…

"I've told you this before, but now I'm really serious, as serious as I've ever been in my whole life, okay?"

Frey stood with Leon at the side of the lake, watching the man with pursed lips after she'd finalized what she had to say. She'd already tried to do this before, knowing that her relationship with Doug was obviously more serious than her playtime with the jackal, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to really break it off until now.

Everything was said and done, the wedding date would quickly arrive – she knew that for sure – and her fiancé was moving in in just a matter of days. There was no way she could hide Leon in her room at night with Doug there.

Not that she wanted to, anyway. She hadn't _been _with Doug yet, nor had she with Leon, per se, but that was part of the fun and excitement of marrying him. It would be like a whole new adventure exploring different things with him, seeing where the wind took them. She honestly couldn't wait one bit.

"You have nothing to fear, Love," Leon replied, to which Frey grimaced quickly. "I am a man of my word. I'll back off and let Doug have the spotlight for now."

She sighed. "You have to stop calling me Love. Otherwise people will get the wrong idea. It's bad enough you've let it slip a couple times at the restaurant… We're just lucky that the people of Selphia are really dense."

Leon chuckled, sending some chills down her spine and butterflies to her stomach. "Okay, okay." He cleared his throat, almost as if he was nervous to keep talking. "So, ah, what should I call you instead?"

"Just that."

"Hm?"

"You."

Frey dug the point of her shoe into the ground, creating a hole in the earth where the green grass was just prior to it. "You don't ever call me Frey – even now you don't. You call me either 'Love' or 'You'."

He seemed unperturbed.

"Just call me whatever you used to call me before this all started, all right? It'll be like nothing ever happened," she finished, staring out at the water, the small waves of the lake rippling, the afternoon sun's rays reflecting on the blue surface.

Leon nodded slowly. "I'll do my best. For what it's worth, though," he started, closing the space between them as he walked towards her, "I rather enjoyed our time together, despite how short-lived it was."

He put his hand on her cheek, sliding it around and caressing it, watching her face as her eyes closed. Her face seemed to switch between confused and content, but he didn't really mind. Just seeing her cute expressions was enough.

Frey was expecting a last goodbye kiss despite having the same thing just a few nights ago, thinking she would be able to cut him loose that time. He met her expectation, but not quite in the way she thought he would.

He moved his hand up to her forehead and kissed her skin softly, pressing his lips to it. It lasted no more than a second but it felt like a lifetime to Frey. She whimpered slightly under his touch and he let out a throaty chuckle, sending shivers to her spine again. She really hoped those would go away with time. This was just playtime, Leon was just a plaything, and her true feelings lay with Doug, the man she was about to marry.

But Leon got cocky after hearing her noises and lowered his face to hers, meeting her on eye level. He stared into her green orbs and contemplated teasing her just one last time.

Why not? It was the last time, so he'd have to make it extremely entertaining.

He placed a hand on each side of her face and inched closer to her mouth with his, feeling her hot breath escape from hers and threaten to enter his. It was really very enticing, and it took an inane amount of his self-control to not actually do what he wanted to do right then and there.

Frey's eyes closed as she anticipated the real kiss, but after several seconds passed and all she could feel was the air coming out of his mouth she opened them back up, staring at the now smirking jackal man.

"Leon!"

He laughed heartily, instantly backing away. "You know, that was quite the adorable waiting face you had there."

Her cheeks flushed. "Jeez!"

Leon took her into his arms then, squeezing her tightly. "I'll miss teasing you like that."

Though he was holding her just a bit too tightly, she didn't mind, instead returning his embrace, taking in what she knew would very likely be the last inhales of his scent before they parted ways. She enjoyed the time for what it was. It was a parting, a farewell, a rite of passage to the separation of their respective lives. Although she was sad she was closing a door, there was an open window just waiting for her out there with Doug.

"Thank you for being with me," he whispered, and for a second Frey wasn't sure if she'd heard him right. A tear left her eye and she squeezed both shut again, hoping they wouldn't come out and stain his shirt. After a few more moments he finally pulled away.

If he saw Frey's semi-puffy eyes he didn't make any mention of it, which the girl was very thankful for. Knowing that this was going to be the absolute last time anything between the two here would happen, she felt she had to do something to make sure it ended on a good note.

She crooked her head up to allow her lips to meet his for a quick peck, which was over before anything could start.

"Goodbye, Leon. Thanks for everything you've done for me, but now we need to travel down separate paths."

"I know, I know, already," he said, sighing, mainly to give him time to recover from the short kiss. He gave her his signature cocky smirk. "I'll see you around and don't worry, I won't do anything funny anymore. I truly wish for you and Doug to live a happy life together."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Before she could let anything convince herself to stay just a bit longer, she made her feet move, carrying her away from her second choice and lover.

As he watched her leave, Leon picked at the spot on his vest where she left a tiny tear stain. "Honestly…" he trailed sadly, "you're far too much trouble than you're worth."

…

*GLOMP*

"Whoa!" Frey exclaimed, unsure of what to do. "W-who is this? Amber?"

"Try again," the voice behind her whispered into her ear.

A small shiver ran down her spine, instantly brightening her mood tenfold. "D-Doug?"

The dwarf laughed and kissed her cheek, surprising her even more. "You sure do stutter a lot, y'know that?"

She flushed a dark shade of red, not used to this sort of affection, especially in the middle of the town square where anybody could see them. She smiled sheepishly as she remembered Blossom chiding them for being so open one day. Hadn't Doug learned from that?

"You're so unfair," she whimpered, referring to his tactics to get her attention. Though, if they were just talking about fairness, she was definitely more unfair than he was…

He stepped away and instead grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

She huffed. "Never mind. But you do know there's all sorts of people around right now, right? They're all going to start staring at us…"

Doug just squeezed her hand tighter and grinned. "Why should we care? We're going to be married soon…" he trailed with a cough to the side, hiding his blush. "Anyway, just because we're going to be the second married couple in town doesn't mean we have to be in second place. We gotta show everyone we can be a better couple than Nancy and Jones!"

"So all you care about is the popularity of our love?"

"Ahaha, no, not at all," he said, reassuring her. "I just like the thought of being able to kiss you wherever and whenev – I mean, I want to show everyone that you're mine and can't be taken away from me."

"The first answer sounded better," Frey said with her half laugh. "The second just makes it sound like I'm your possession."

"I didn't mean it like that! I swear!"

Frey giggled. "I know." She turned her body towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek as well, laughing when a red hue showed up on his face. "It's only fair, since you did it to me!"

"All right, all right," he agreed reluctantly, cheeks still visibly flushed.

She resumed walking by his side for a few moments but then something occurred to her. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Doug didn't respond right away, pursing his lips. The two were walking in the direction of the general store, but Frey still didn't quite understand what was happening.

"I want you to help me start packing up," he explained softly. His grip on her hand loosened a little bit, as if he was losing his strength from being embarrassed.

Frey smiled. "I'd be glad to help."

"Awesome! Come on then!"

He let go of her hand and started sprinting towards the store and his house now, leaving her in the dust out of excitement.

"Haha… Honestly, Doug, sometimes you act just like a little kid," she said a little more loudly than just to herself. She followed him through the door nonetheless and was greeted by a chipper Blossom behind the counter.

"Welcome, Frey! You just missed Doug." She laughed. "That boy gets excited over the simplest things, I swear. I hope you can fix him up good when he's there with you."

A drop of sweat dripped down Frey's forehead and she laughed a little, unsure of what to say. "Yeah, he's…definitely a keeper!"

"Oh, come now," Blossom said, "say it like you mean it! Otherwise I won't let you take him away from me."

The Earthmate blushed. "Y-you saw how his proposal went… Of course I mean it!"

"Hmm?"

The half-smile stayed on her face. Since Frey and Doug had been getting closer, Blossom had become more and more like an overprotective parent, like a father taking care of his daughter before marriage. And Doug was definitely a mama's boy - or in their special case, a father's boy. Though she didn't particularly mind, it did get on Frey's nerves sometimes.

It was best to just come right out with it, though, so she could escape the situation as soon as possible. "I really love Doug, Blossom. I won't do anything that will make you regret giving him to me." She scratched the back of her neck. "I know he'll make me happy, and I'm pretty sure I'll make him happy, so you don't have anything to worry about."

She watched the old woman carefully, just to make sure she didn't doubt her any more. It was frustrating when she had to keep repeating herself to get her point across. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she saw a head of red hair and instantly all the blood rushed to her face.

"Ah! No, I – I didn't mean to eavesdrop! I was just wondering if you were still here and when you were coming up if you still were and…just come up here with me, Frey!"

Doug talked so quickly she wasn't sure if she heard him right, but she quietly excused herself from Blossom's presence and followed Doug up the staircase, her heart pounding out of her chest.

"Haha…sorry about that," she said, embarrassed. Before she could explain herself further, though, she felt weight on her body and found herself pushed up against the wall.

Doug's lips had found hers easily and didn't seem to want to leave their spot any time soon. Frey was shocked, to say the very least, but she melted into it, allowing herself to enjoy the moment. Even though Blossom was in the same house, she was downstairs and was a little hard of hearing, anyway, so if anything were to happen, she probably wouldn't hear it.

_Wait, what? _

She wanted to push him away, fearful of where it might lead, but he beat her to it, turning around and away from her as soon as their mouths separated. She touched her lips disbelievingly, forgetting just when the last time something like that had happened. He wasn't that type of guy.

"Sorry." Doug coughed. "Sometimes I just forget how much I love you."

Her heart threatened to melt into a puddle of itself on the floor in front of her and the happiest smile crept onto her face. "Thank you."

A few moments passed and Doug cleared his throat awkwardly. "A-anyway, uh… You wanna help me get started here?"

Frey nodded, still smiling, and quickly knelt down, glancing over to Doug when she felt his presence beside her. She returned her attention to the box in front of her, though, wondering if he was planning on using it to carry things.

"Oh, what's – "

"Ah, don't touch that!"

Frey recognized the thing as the notebook Doug kept for whatever reasons. She used to think it was like a diary of sorts, but he wouldn't ever let her see what was written in it. Why was he so secretive, though?

"If we're getting married, shouldn't we get rid of all the secrets between us?" she asked hesitantly.

That might not have been the best course of action, though. Doug of course knew she was seeing Leon while she was dating the dwarf as well, but he wasn't aware of their continuing relationship even after Doug proposed. As far as he knew, their relationship had ceased when Doug confessed his love for her to the entire town.

Telling him about the secret relationship might have hurt him.

"Eeeeh…let's just wait a little while, all right?" he suggested, an odd grin on his face. "There's some things I'm not ready for you to know about me just yet."

Frey smiled sadly. "Okay."

She decided she could live with that for now. If he had his secrets, she could have her own, right? Down the road it wouldn't be such a big deal what she had to tell him, anyway. She was probably just worrying over nothing, and only worrying so much because it had just happened – or, rather, _ended _– just earlier that day.

She sighed in relief and leaned her head on Doug's shoulder. The man's cheeks heated up and he was about to ask what was wrong but Frey beat him to words.

"You should hurry up and finish packing already."

* * *

_~CGA_


	2. Start of it All

**A/N: **Long time, no see! Sorry I forgot to mention that my boyfriend from NY was coming to visit me in MI for like a month...and dumb old me posted a new multichap story ten days before his visit so I literally didn't get anything done at all.

I've learned how hard it is writing like eight different people into a paragraph at once ._. and trying to have them all in character is hard.

Anyway, here's the newest installment! Now, to my next multichaps which haven't been updated in half a year or more~!

**[Edit 7/4: Happy Fourth! Anyway, major edits to this. I'm assuming since it's been posted for a while and there's a lack of feedback (apart from like, one more favorite, I think) that nobody likes the second chapter because of Dolce angst and random other crap. I took it out and replaced it with (hopefully) better stuff than before, even though the latter half is still mostly angst. Hope not too many people saw the previous installment..hehe it was really bad. My utmost apologies and I hope this rewrite makes up for it.]**

**[7/5: sorrysorrysorry I didn't even try to rewrite this like at all yesterday, so here's the rewrite (which is hopefully less painful on the eyes) and I'm in the process of doing the next chapter as well. So hopefully I can get that done before work and I can make it up for the previously disgusting thing which was left here. Seriously I'm sorry you guys had to see that darkness lol. I keep berating myself for it but you shouldn't have let me post it .-.]**

* * *

**Controversy**

"Doug, it's morning," Frey whispered to her fiancé, shaking him gently. It was half past seven but she had already done all her morning chores and tended to the animals, so she was surprised that with all the noise she made he didn't wake up. Though, she supposed, she hadn't fixed breakfast yet…

She giggled as Doug crinkled his nose, indicating he hadn't quite woken up just yet but was on the verge. Frey still didn't really understand what still took him so long to wake up; some mornings she would find him awake and getting the shop ready for the day at seven AM, bright and early.

"Mmn… five more minutes…"

Another giggle escaped from her mouth. "Don't tell me this is what it's gonna be like everyday?"

"Hmm? What?" Doug jolted awake suddenly, the sound of Frey's normal voice creeping into his mind. "What's going on?"

"It's time to wake up, Douggie."

"Don't…call me that." He sighed, rolling over onto his stomach. Frey rubbed his back lovingly, but after about a minute she thought he fell back asleep so she quickened the pace and pressure, hearing him groan.

She spun the emerald ring around her finger a few times, glancing around the room while biting the inside of her cheek. "Is that any way to talk to me on our wedding day?"

"W-what?!"

"Hahaha, just kidding," she teased.

He heaved a sigh in relief. "Geez, you scared me. I thought for a second we'd have to get away from each other for a little bit."

Her soft laughing ceased and a shocked but amused look stayed on her face. "You don't really believe in that superstition, do you?"

"It brings bad luck, though," Doug said with that blank face of his. "I mean, it brings bad luck if you and your…well, fiancée, stay in the same room or general area the night before and the day of the wedding."

"What's so bad about it?"

"Erm… Well…" His face turned a light shade of pink. "I dunno, okay, but it's bad luck! So next month, the night before the wedding, we can't see each other. I don't wanna be cursed or anything!"

"All right, all right," Frey said, giving in, not expecting it to go on as long as it had. "Whatever you say."

She glanced over to her tiny kitchen area and then back to Doug, who was quickly falling back asleep. "Anyway, how do you like your eggs?"

He grumbled, "You should know."

She bit the inside of her cheek. "Not really, no. All this time I've been switching between your tempura and fried rice."

"Rice? You're making rice for breakfast?"

Frey sighed but smiled nonetheless. "You only hear what you want to hear, don't you?" She crouched down near his head and began ruffling his hair. "Come on, get up! I swear, it's like you don't know how to wake up anymore after sleeping with me for a few nights." She caught herself blushing a bit but ignored it; it had already been several days, so why was she still embarrassed about it? They were getting married in just a matter of weeks…

He grunted in annoyance, not liking when anybody messed with his hair. "…mbled."

"Hmm?" Frey tilted her head in confusion.

"Scrambled."

…

"Jeez, I can't believe it takes Doug that long to wake up in the mornings!" Margaret said, being one of the earliest risers in the whole town, next to Frey and Volkanon.

Frey laughed sheepishly, wondering if Margaret was going to nag him later about that. "A-anyway, how have things been?" she asked to her group of female friends. She really hadn't gotten many chances to talk to them lately, what with staying inside with Doug all the time to plan weddings and everything. Since Ventuswill wasn't around at the moment, they had to relay all the plans to Volkanon, who was a little less than ideal to play the role of the priest due to his…interesting moments of emotional bursts. But everything would work out in the end.

"Ellie and I found a new kind of flower!" Amber said cheerfully, outstretching her arms and grinning. "After we plant it and collect its seeds we're gonna start selling it in the shop!"

The Earthmate smiled at her friend's innocence and listened as the next person, Clorica, began relaying her own last week.

"I got to catch up on some of my sleep, so I'm feeling rather chip…per…zzz." As soon as she started she stopped talking, sure enough snoozing right in the open, standing up. Frey sweatdropped and laughed half-heartedly, wondering if she would ever change.

"I also had the chance to catch up on sleep! It seems I received more, yes?"

The girls' eyes turned towards Xiao Pai, the girl with her hands upon her head as if she was confused.

"Mama made some really delicious stew a few nights ago, and it seems it was very pleasing for my stomach. I slept like a bump on a log!"

"That's not really how that term is used, but oh well…" Margaret trailed, giggling at the foreign girl. "Anyway, I came up with a new song, so I'm pretty proud of myself!"

"What kind of song is it?" Frey asked.

"It's just another ballad…y'know, slow and steady…" the elf girl trailed, embarrassed now, wondering why she brought it up in the first place.

All the girls exclaimed how much they wanted to hear it, much to Margaret's dismay. It wasn't that she disliked playing for people, it was just…

"Meg, why do you keep bringing up your songs if you're not going to play them?" Forte asked quixotically.

"Isn't it obvious? She just likes the attention," Dolce said flatly.

"Er, I – I didn't really think of it in that way," Forte tried to assure Meg.

Margaret just smiled nonchalantly. "It's all right. Truthfully, I don't know why I keep talking about how proud I am of my songs and then refuse to play them. I'm just weird, I guess."

"Dolce, that was a little bit uncalled for, though," Clorica spoke up, seemingly awake now. She was biting the inside of her cheek, but not in the comical way she usually did. She seemed truly upset.

Dolce turned her head to the side. "I'm… I'm sorry. I'm just a little off-kilter right now," she admitted.

"Is something wrong?" Amber asked, and at the same time, Xiao Pai joined in with, "If you're feeling troubled, you should tell us, yes?"

"It's only matters at home. Don't be so worried."

Margaret waved her finger and stood in her motherly pose. "Now, you can't just act up like that and expect us to not be worried about you. Either you tell us what's wrong or we'll find out on our own."

To continue off of Meg's rant, Clorica added, "And believe me, we _will _find out – you can just ask Frey here. Remember what we did to scare Doug when he didn't propose to you right away?"

Frey grimaced and shuddered, but nodded to Dolce, who was also in on the action so of course she remembered as well. "Anyway, if something's bothering you, don't be afraid to tell us," Frey said.

"We're all here for you. Don't forget that," Forte chimed in with her signature knightly smile.

Dolce blushed and turned her head away again, unused to all the attention she was getting. "I-it's okay, really. I'll be just fine." She glanced back at all the girls though and smiled. "But thanks for worrying and concerning yourselves with me."

"Group hug!" Amber shouted, her butterfly wings protruding forth to show she was happy.

"Eh? Please, no – "

Before anyone could heed her pleads and "warnings", though, Dolce was surrounded by the girls and their arms. The color returned to her face but she couldn't say she disliked the warm feeling, both inside and out.

"This is so cheesy…" she muttered to herself.

"What do we have here?"

The girls pulled away at once after hearing the male voice from behind them.

"Who's the – oh, it's just Leon," Forte said after turning around and examining the source of the voice. She at once returned her sword to its proper sheath, seeing there was no threat besides teasing.

"You mean you didn't recognize my voice?" Leon's face turned into a fake frown. "That hurts a bit, Forte."

Frey just stayed behind the others while staring blankly at Leon, wondering what to do at a time like this. She hadn't seen him, let alone talked to him, in over a week, and that was when she broke it off with him for the last time. How was one supposed to act around a person who was her lover just days ago?

More importantly, though, why was he here anyway? Was he really just passing through and happened to see the conundrum going on? Or was he just trailing her now that she could be out and about, hoping to tease her?

It was probably the latter option, she thought with a frown. It wouldn't do for everybody to see her like this, though, so she sucked up whatever was bothering her and smiled. "Good afternoon, Leon."

Everyone who knew Frey knew that she couldn't resist not saying a day greeting to whoever she met on the street. Even the tourists who walked around the town would comment on how friendly the princess there was, seemingly having so many duties but still having enough time to greet whoever crossed her path. That was just a trademark Frey thing, so if she didn't say hello to Leon, everyone would know something was wrong.

"Well, hello," he replied, his face unchanging. She remembered he was good at hiding his emotions. Well, she was going to have to be, too.

"It's early afternoon - aren't you normally in the bath?" Frey asked, noting the way the sun shone in the sky. When she left the house it was just past ten, meaning it was probably ten-thirty now, and when she made her morning treks through town, she'd always see Leon heading to the bathhouse at that time.

"My, aren't we observant today?"

"Why is it that you know Leon's bathing schedule?" Clorica asked, suddenly interested. She didn't seem too interested afterwards in hearing the answer, though, because she quickly fell back to sleep.

"Ahaha… I guess I'm just nosy," the mint-haired girl replied, laughing nervously with her hand on her neck.

Amber ran in front of Frey. "Do me next! Where am I at ten-thirty or eleven?"

A drop of sweat fell from Frey's forehead. "Well, um…"

"Don't you know? She's only observant toward men," Leon broke in, interrupting her thought process of how she was going to try and guess.

"Hey! It's not like I'm the one going around following all the members of the opposite sex every day," she countered, referring to his current position.

He frowned. "You wound me. I just happened to be wandering aimlessly until I stumbled upon this fine group of young ladies."

Frey's face scrunched up into a mixture of disgust and confusion. She wasn't sure if she was truly angry or just annoyed with him, but the next thing she said came out as icily as it sounded in her head, and she instantly regretted it.

"You're not being a man of your word."

By now half the other girls had retreated, either fearing the two when they fought or having other stuff to take care of themselves. Only Forte, Margaret and Clorica remained now, and the purple-haired girl was hardly paying attention, being asleep and all.

Leon seemed utterly defeated at that point. No part of his face showed what he was thinking, but the four girls who were left could only guess that he was trying, as usual, to come up with a response, witty or otherwise. Needless to say, he couldn't think of one, so he left without saying anything else, either too embarrassed that he was defeated or too defeated to even feel embarrassed.

Once he was out of sight, Frey sighed, not knowing why she said that.

"That was rather harsh, Frey," Forte scolded.

"Yeah," she replied, unable to think of what else to say. It wasn't even like Leon was bothering them – he was just being Leon! That was who he was, someone who bothered everyone, but it was funny so that's why he got away with it all the time. He wasn't harming anyone.

It seemed that she was the one with the problem and not him.

"I…should probably find him and apologize."

"That might be best," the blonde agreed.

As Frey began walking away, Forte and Margaret looked at each other with the same expression, wondering if the other knew what was wrong between the two friends. They both exchanged a glance with Clorica, who surprisingly wasn't asleep, but Margaret sighed when she realized none of them knew what was the matter.

"Should we pry?" she asked in a hushed voice. Frey wasn't too far away yet.

Forte shook her head. "I don't think we should. Not yet, anyway." She watched the young Earthmate's figure disappear into the distance. "She'll tell us when she's ready to."

...

_Knock knock knock._

When there was no answer after the first set of knocks, Frey tried once more. She knew he had to be in there; there was no other place to look in town and she knew he wouldn't travel outside alone at this time of day.

_Knock knock knock._

"Who is it?"

"I-it's me, Frey."

There was an audible sigh from the other side of the door. "Go away."

Frey gulped but wiggled the knob anyway. She wondered just how upset he really was.

The door opened without difficulty and when she entered the room she saw Leon just lying on his side, facing the wall. She huffed.

"Did what I say to you really bother you that much?"

She didn't receive an answer, instead only hearing very hushed exhales of breath. She bit the inside of her cheek.

"I know you're not sleeping, Leon; you just answered me a minute ago behind the door."

She still didn't get any answer so she decided to try a more direct approach. Frey waltzed over to his bed and shook him like she did to Doug that morning, except a little more forceful. If there was anything she knew about men at all, it was that they couldn't stay asleep if they're shaken awake.

Leon was rolled onto his back and suddenly Frey lost all traces of anger, any hints of being upset thrown away as she was forced to stare into his eyes. His blue orbs pierced into her mint greens, threatening to bring back all the seemingly-lost feelings the two once shared. For the moment, it was only the two of them and nobody else in the world mattered. There was nobody around them at all, nobody to tell them how wrong this was, nobody to tell them to stop being so lovey-dovey, and most of all, nobody to interrupt them. It was their world where only the two of them existed.

She searched his eyes for his feelings but when she didn't find or understand them she felt a pang of sadness wash across herself. Was she the only one who felt this way? Did she misunderstand their old relationship for just a way to kill time? Did he have any feelings left for her, if he ever did at all?

Was this wrong?

Frey's eyes moved heavily and frantically from his eyes to the rest of his face, from his cheeks to his lips, desperately hoping to find some answers.

"You're cute when you're anxious."

She wasn't sure if she heard it only in her mind or if he really said it, but that was all it took for her to break down and fall into him, sobbing into his bare chest and whimpering unintelligible words.

"...so much...hurts so much..."

Even though his heart was probably beating a mile a minute, he could still feel it breaking every time he made out what she was saying. Every time she stopped sobbing she hiccuped and, despite it being utterly adorable, he couldn't force himself to smirk like his usual self, let alone smile.

Leon instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer than they'd ever been before, even when they were in a relationship. He exhaled a breath of relief, just knowing she was there and for the moment was his and wasn't going away. He could feel her heartbeat colliding with his, creating a sort of bittersweet and monotone melody that only the two of them could sing. It felt so good, so right, to have her there in his arms.

But he knew it couldn't last. She belonged to someone else because he lost his chance.

"Hey," he said.

She sniffed and loosened her arms' grip from around his neck, glancing up at his face. His voice was so gentle, just like how she loved it, and the expression on his face could have made her heart melt if everything was right. She was almost mesmerized.

"I'm going to be a man of my word."

He got up, bringing her with him, and threw his arms around her again. "I haven't been the greatest to you, especially since last week, but I'm going to start now."

Frey hiccuped but didn't say anything, not entirely understanding what he was trying to say. She was going to question him but when her voice came out as incomprehensible squeaks he continued, saving her the trouble.

"You won't see me anymore unless it's your choice," he whispered into her hair. "If you want to make time for me, I'll always be here, but for now and possibly the rest of your life, we'll live as strangers, just mere acquaintances who live in the same town."

He allowed himself to keep her there for just a few moments more until he decided it was okay. He replaced his sadness with the signature smirk and pulled back.

"Enough of this mushy garbage. We both know neither of us is like that." He chuckled despite seeing her face crumpling into fear and remorse. "Go along and play with your boy toy, now."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes, willing what tears she had left to stay in their ducts. She wasn't supposed to be sad over something like this. She and Leon's relationship was over - they were both just playing around anyway - so what was the matter?

She laughed quietly and sheepishly. "Okay. Well, what does this make us then?"

His face changed into its non-amused expression. "I just told you. We'll be acquaintances, just like how we used to be before all this started." When he didn't receive a response, he added with another smirk, "Don't tell me you're not all right with that?"

She pushed him playfully. "That's just fine. It gives me more time to focus on more...important things," she said, guiltily biting her lip. It wasn't like this was a waste of time, but she did have to admit, her and Doug's wedding was far more important than a relationship from the past, and speaking of Doug...

Tears nearly sprang forth from her eyes again at the thought of her fiance, and she got up immediately, almost regretting coming here in the first place.

"Well... I have stuff to do, so..." She rubbed the back of her neck, walking backwards to the open doorway, now impatient and eager to leave.

He smiled genuinely, allowing himself to be different for just another second. "See you around."

After she shut the door behind her and sighed once she got to the other side, his face contorted once more back into sadness. A day of wallowing in self-pity wouldn't hurt anybody, right? He owed it to himself to be honest with his feelings, at least for once in his life. This wasn't the end of the world by any means - he simply needed some time to get back on his feet, then he'd be good as new.

Frey leaned against the door and allowed herself an exhale of relief. Everything was finally over. She didn't feel completely satisfied with the way it ended, but she concluded that she would never truly be, anyway. At least she could resume her healthy relationship with Doug and enjoy her own wedding now. And she didn't have anybody angry or upset with her anymore.

She smiled despite the lingering sadness in her heart. No matter what happened, things were sure to start looking up with her wedding just around the corner.

* * *

_~CGA_


	3. Preparations

**A/N: **I'm trying to figure out why the doc manager version of this chapter has 100 words (not even including a/n) more than the version I wrote in Word. It's so weird... And I'm hoping that I didn't miss anything because I haven't proofread and really don't feel like doing that...*sigh* We are our own worst critics, after all.

Speaking of critiquing (that kinda rhymes), I reeeally feel like the quality of this story has depleted since its first chapter. Meh, it's only chapter three, true, but either the first chapter's the greatest or the worst, and I feel like I've promised something I can't deliver with the first chapter. BUT I'M RANTING, and you guys can hopefully tell me whether that's true or not, right? (not begging for reviews, I promise, though they are deeply appreciated)

Anyway, enjoy the little snippets of every freaking character in existence (seriously, why did I make it a personal rule to include all the bachelor/ettes, lol. Writing all of them in scenes is so exhausting, which is why you can see I barely ever use Xiao or Amber. Even Dylas, Vishnal, and Kiel are going to be lackluster in here. OH WELL, WHATEVER. I'm actually really tired and it's only 3:00. I hate working night shifts.

Hope all the period breaks don't make all of you mad, lol. Next chapter will be the wedding, was thinking about including it into this one but it was already as long as the others and I didn't really want to write it today anyway haha.

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing and favoriting and all that jazz :) I really really appreciate everybody's kind words. Here's to the rest of this story~!

* * *

**Controversy**

"Frey, you look so amazing!"

Clorica was the only one who outright said it, but all the other girls in the room seemed to be saying the same thing with just their faces. Every one of them had been helping her prepare all evening, despite the wedding not taking place for another twelve hours. It was already eleven o'clock at night and Frey was honestly a little tired.

"Ahaha, thanks," the Earthmate said shyly. She hadn't been able to see herself in any mirror yet, mainly because Margaret refused to let her so the others went along with her. Only when they were completely finished would she be allowed to glance at herself. She was a little excited. Only a little, though.

"Ouch." She winced away from Margaret's hands slightly, wondering just how much longer the older female would continue her torment.

"Jeez, sit still!" the elf girl scolded. Frey couldn't see or guess anything, but it felt like Margaret was pulling the locks of light green hair into some sort of updo, though not all of it was on top because she could feel some loose strands tickling her neck every so often.

Frey sighed. "How much longer?" she asked exasperatedly. She knew they all wanted her to be ready, but still…there were twelve hours yet and it wasn't like she was going to sleep in her dress and with her hair this way. She really wanted to go to sleep already so she could be happy and see Doug…

It'd been almost a whole day without him lingering around, and while normally that wouldn't have been an issue, having lived with him for the past almost-month really made it hard to not see him all the time. It was a rather odd change of pace to be sure.

Margaret huffed. "Oh, I'm almost done, just hold on."

"Dolly, when you get married, I guarantee you'll look just as good as Frey, if not better!"

"Hey, that's not something you say when the people you're comparing are in the same room," Dolce said, though she did blush a bit.

Clorica turned around to face the red-colored girl in question. "That reminds me. How are you feeling, Dolce?"

When Dolce didn't respond, instead giving her a look of confusion, Clorica continued.

"A few weeks ago you seemed to be feeling down. Is everything better now?"

"Oh," Dolce said, not really anticipating this. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." She smiled genuinely and Clorica decided to drop it, satisfied with the response. The other girls didn't really seem to pay attention, too focused on the bride-to-be.

"I feel this needs to be said," Forte started. All eyes turned to her but she seemed unperturbed. "It may not be my place, but just know that… If Doug touches you in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable, let me know as soon as possible." She sheathed her sword, bringing emphasis to her next statement. "I will personally deliver justice to the pervert."

A drop of sweat fell from Frey's forehead and she could feel more building up, wondering just what else the knight would do given the chance. Margaret wiped the wetness away and began another scolding.

"Frey! Ladies don't sweat! Especially when they look this beautiful!"

"Ha…sorry. I guess I can't follow your example that well, Meg."

Red tinted the elf girl's cheeks, though Frey couldn't see it, and she stammered. "Ah…well, that's…"

"I think none of us can be like Meg, because she always smells like nice flowers, yes?"

"Xiao Pai, you're only making it worse," Frey told her, laughing nonetheless as she imagined how Meg's face must have looked then, all embarrassed. It reminded her of her own face whenever Doug did something ridiculously adorable that she couldn't help but react to.

"Okay, okay! Frey, just one more tug and then you're done, I promise!" Margaret nearly shouted, eager to leave all of a sudden.

She was about to respond but then she felt the "one more tug" and resisted the urge to wince again in pain. The older female was definitely more forceful than before.

A few moments passed as Meg finished up with her hair, flipping a few more layers here and there, sticking more layers to each other with pins and the like. Frey could feel her scalp being abused but didn't say anything or complain, knowing it was just about over. And as soon as she told herself that…

"All right!" Meg exclaimed at long last. "Ta-da! All done!"

She spun Frey around on the stool so she could see herself in the vanity. The Earthmate thought herself to be a bit cliché, but she nearly gasped at her own appearance staring back at her.

Margaret had managed to pull most of her hair up into a twisted bun on the back of her head; when she tilted her head to different angles she could see the different braids that worked together to keep the hairdo intact. At the sides of her face, a few stray locks of her hair had somehow curled thanks to Meg's magic, following the curve of her face to her shoulders. Coupled with the color of her dress, which matched her hair color to a tee, Frey could honestly say she looked like a princess.

She laughed at herself mentally. This was the first time she could truly fit and wear her title properly and proudly, she realized, despite living in Selphia for around three years now. She had tried several times to return the status to Arthur, the rightful member of royalty in the small town, but he refused it each time, insisting that she would fit in much better than he would.

Frey sighed happily, just staring at her reflection. It was starting to sink in that in just a little under half a day she would be married to the love of her life. She watched as a huge grin spread across her face, realizing just how excited she was.

"Aww, look, those three are out like lights," Meg commented softly, gesturing towards Xiao Pai, Amber, and Clorica, all three snuggled together on Frey's bed. It was unusual to see Clorica actually lie down to nap, so she must have been tired from the day's events – the girls took Frey out to pick up her specially tailored dress, shopping for accessories to match it, and have something of a bachelorette party. Frey blushed at the memory of seeing a half-naked man that wasn't Doug, instead being an "entertainer" from the next town over. She had of course ended the party early, being just a tad uncomfortable, but the thought was appreciated, anyway.

Frey followed her gaze and giggled, wondering how they were going to get them out so she herself could get some shut-eye before morning. She already had to wake up early to complete all the preparations. Volkanon and the rest of the villagers volunteered to help but she insisted that because it was her wedding she should get to pick out everything that goes everywhere. It was one of the first times in her life, that she could remember, that she'd been that bossy.

"So, how do you like it?"

The green-haired girl turned her attention back to Meg, who was staring at her with a determined expression. Frey smiled warmly.

"I love it. Thank you so much, Meg."

"Well, time to get moving, guys. There's a long day for all of us tomorrow."

Forte's voice carried throughout the room and Frey, Margaret, and Dolce watched wordlessly as she heaved the three sleeping girls' forms on her shoulders.

"How does that even work…" Dolce voiced for the two others, wondering how three girls could fit on her two shoulders. Even though they saw it with their own eyes, they couldn't believe it.

"Forte's right, though," Margaret said. "We should get going." She offered Frey a small smile before standing up. "I'll be here to wake you up at six, okay? No dilly-dallying! Get some sleep as soon as we leave."

"Well, Lin Fa is keeping the bath open late for me, but other than that, there's nothing else I need to do tonight, so yeah, I will," Frey retorted, seemingly having a conversation with herself rather than Meg.

Dolce and Meg waved their farewells and Forte offered a nod, and soon Frey was left alone to her thoughts and herself in the castle room.

…

It was a bit of a waste to undo all of Meg's hard work, Frey thought, but she'd back in the morning to do it all over again so she didn't let it bother her too much. Besides, it wouldn't do to have a smelly bride at a wedding. Of course, she wasn't sure if she really did stink, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially if she was worrying this much over it.

She didn't want her newlywed husband to think she'd let herself go just because they hadn't been together for a day or two.

Frey caught herself blushing at the thought and told herself to forget everything. Just a few more hours and she'd be able to see him again and then -

She stopped her racing thoughts before they could get any raci_er_, and soon she forced herself to just get back to the room and get some sleep.

A sigh slipped past her lips as she rested her head on the pillow, contemplating what to do when she woke up in the morning. Would she even be able to have some time to herself or would she instantly be bombarded by Meg and the others? It was sweet how much they cared, but… Well, in any case, it was probably better she wasn't left alone, judging just on how tonight made her thoughts run wild.

She felt her consciousness begin to slip away after she cleared her mind, only one thought remaining.

In a few hours she would be married to the love of her life.

…

"Good moooorning, Frey!"

The Earthmate sat up groggily, not looking forward to opening the door for whoever that cheery voice belonged to. She took a quick glance at her alarm clock, which eerily read six in the morning. Of course, she was normally up at this time on a normal day anyway, but on a day like _today – _

"I'm getting married today," she said without really realizing it. She knew there was something different about the day when she opened her eyes but now that she actually knew what was going on…

Frey sprang out of her bed and raced to the door, greeting the girls. She really only expected Margaret, but hey, the more the merrier, right?

"Meg, make me pretty!"

The elf girl giggled. "I guess it's sunk in finally, huh?" She walked into the room, the other girls trailing behind her, each looking just as tired as the next, not used to being awake at the crack of dawn like this.

"Are you excited?" Forte asked, though she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Frey just grinned and laughed goofily, feeling like a five-year-old, while Meg took the liberty to answer for her.

"Of course she is! It isn't every day that a lady gets married, you know! And what's more, she's even marrying the love of her life…" She sighed contently, already setting Frey down into the stool and beginning to mess with her long hair, ratted from the night's sleep. "It's probably like a dream come true."

Forte glanced down. "O-oh? I had no idea. Truthfully, I am unsure of how something like this would feel…"

"Ahaha! Forte, you're so inexperienced, but that's what makes you cute," Margaret said with a laugh. "I'm not sure which of you is cuter right now: Frey for being so in love or Forte for being so inexperienced at love."

"They're both adorable," Clorica said, awake for a second, a silly grin plastered on her face. The next moment she was out like a light, however.

"It is most certainly Frey who is beaming with cuteness and female pheromones today. There is no possible way I could match her on her wedding day," Forte retorted, though she did blush a bit.

Dolce, Xiao Pai, and Amber sat on the bed, watching the others with half-lidded eyes. They wondered what was going on but were too tired to bother asking or watching more closely to find out for themselves.

But Frey sat still on the stool, this time allowed to watch her reflection in the mirror since she already knew what her hair would look like. She was very excited, to say the least, but knew if she started talking she wouldn't be able to stop, so she kept quiet lest she annoy somebody.

Besides, mere hours from now she would be able to bother the living daylights out of everybody in town – everybody who would be attending, anyway, she told herself sadly, thoughts of the late Venti entering her mind unwillingly.

It wouldn't do to be sad on a day like today, though, she reminded herself. This was one of the only days that belonged to her, just her and Doug, and she definitely wasn't going to let that go to waste.

She felt her body start to shake in what she thought was a mixture of nervousness and excitement, and Margaret chided her for moving when she should've been sitting still so she could do her hair. She apologized half-heartedly and tried to calm down.

It proved to be rather hard.

…

"I can't believe you're taking my Frey away!" Porcoline sobbed from the other side of the room, sitting uncharacteristically in the corner and brooding.

"Heheh… I'm sorry, I think?" Doug responded, unsure of what else to say. He turned his head around in an attempt to look at Porco but soon got scolded for doing so.

"Honestly, Doug, how am I supposed to fix you up if you won't sit still?"

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "S-sorry, Granny Blossom."

Blossom smacked his hand away. "Sit still already! Sheesh, just because I let you dress yourself, you come out looking like this! I knew I should have kept my eye on you last night to make sure you didn't look ridiculous – which you do!"

The old woman mumbled and muttered to herself for a few more moments while Doug stood there, not knowing what to do or say except apologize some more. Truthfully, it damaged his pride a tad by being chided with all of his friends (acquaintances) there. Kiel and Vishnal felt like the only real friends he had in the town, minus Frey of course and maybe Clorica.

Speaking of the guys…

"Doug, you look really good! Rather dashing, if I dare say so without accusation of being associated with the opposite sex in a discerning way."

Arthur's long comment was only further elongated by Dylas. "Why can't you just say homosexuality?" He glanced towards Doug. "And speaking of that word, it looks like you've finally proven yourself to not be that way, so congrats."

"Aw, Dylas, there's no reason to be jealous," Leon chimed in. "I'm sure Lo – Frey wouldn't mind letting you borrow him every once in a while." He wore his signature smirk.

"What were you about to call her?" Vishnal asked, normally being slow but for once actually catching on to something.

The jackal froze for a second, not anticipating that. "Call who what? You must be imagining things, silly delusional butler boy."

"Hmm? No, I'm almost positive you were about to call Frey something else before you called her by name," Kiel piped up, interested as well. "It started with an L or something, right?"

Doug eyed Leon suspiciously before the blue-haired man started again.

"Well, in either case, that doesn't matter anymore. What _does _matter is the fact that we probably shouldn't talk about Doug's sex life out in public anymore." The smirk returned to his face, confident he had gotten them off of the other subject for good.

"W-what?!" Doug asked, his face ten different shades of red.

"Doug!" Blossom scolded, both for what she just heard and for his sudden movements. "Honestly, just what kind of child have I been raising?" she muttered to herself, though Doug could hear it.

"Jeez…" he said exasperatedly. "Not like there's much to talk about, anyway," he added, only low enough for himself to hear it unlike Blossom's voice.

He wasn't sure how much more tormenting he could take. Was it time for the wedding yet?

…

"And off you goooo~!"

Amber pushed Frey into the town square from her bedroom after making sure each of the girls was satisfied with her appearance, especially Frey herself. All the other girls wore their respective bridesmaid dresses, despite it being rather odd to have six bridesmaids. Frey trusted each of them with extremely important stuff, and besides, it wouldn't feel right to leave a couple out, so why not have all of them participate? Clorica and Margaret were already included in the traditional wedding ceremony, anyway; Clorica and Vishnal waited at the end to send the two newlyweds-to-be into the castle to begin the real ceremony while Margaret played her music, either on the harp or piano.

"Eh…okay," Frey agreed reluctantly. Was it really already time for this to start? She felt so nervous, she could almost feel herself sweating through her gown. "That's kinda gross," she muttered, though she did laugh a bit.

She steeled her reflexes and mind, though, telling herself there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Doug would definitely love how she looked, and there was no doubt in her mind she would be amazed by his attire as well.

Frey took a deep breath and followed the flower petals to the middle of the town square, waiting for Doug to come and meet her so they could start their walk through town. In the distance she could see the silhouettes of all her friends, which helped to calm her nerves a little. Everybody here was behind her to back her up whenever she needed it, especially on a day like today. There was nothing to be nervous about.

She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind of every thought that passed through. Several deep exhales escaped through her mouth and she couldn't feel anything around her anymore. It felt so serene, just being by her lonesome self like this, if only for a few moments of peace and quiet.

"Ah!"

Frey gasped and opened her eyes, not fully realizing just who was in front of her. "A-ah what?" But as soon as she asked she could understand why he was confused – or shocked or surprised or whatever other adjective could describe the way she felt.

Doug was dressed head to toe in the traditional white wedding tuxedo, a light green handkerchief exchanged for the blue one to better match Frey tucked into the collar, every button but one done, so Frey could catch the slightest glimpse of the undershirt he was wearing.

She instantly blushed, not expecting him to look this good at all.

"Ah…I was expecting a black tuxedo, but I don't know why, since white is more traditional and it wouldn't match my dress anyway. Ahaha…" she stammered, suddenly nervous once more.

"Yeah," was all Doug said in response, causing her to think she didn't look the best, her female brain overworking itself.

"It doesn't suit me at all, does it?" Frey asked sadly, a lopsided smile on her face, trying to hide her pain. At first he seemed like he was speechless because she looked good, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"What – _no! _That's not what I'm saying at all! Believe me, I'm just an idiot who doesn't know how to say what he's thinking. Please don't take it that way."

Her heart was wildly racing, wondering if he really meant what he was saying. She knew that whenever he got embarrassed he would start stuttering and ranting like there was no tomorrow, though, which seemed to be the case here.

"E..uh...you, uh...um... You look..." he averted his eyes as far away from her as he could. "...Incredible. I mean, you always do, of course! But today is special and you look really _really _good and stuff." He blushed as if he had a fever, covering his face and glancing away so she wouldn't see him like this.

Frey giggled like a schoolgirl. "Thanks. You look really good yourself." She laughed. "I didn't know you could clean up this well. We look like that good-looking couple everybody's always so jealous of."

"Because we are!" Doug countered, his thumb held high.

She nodded and smiled, her nerves and fears suddenly diminished just from looking at Doug.

"Well, shall we go?" he asked, face red as he outstretched his hand towards her.

"Indeed, we shall," she answered, grinning like a fool. She took his hand and linked her arm with his, ready to face the onslaught of other grinning faces they would no doubt be facing throughout the morning.

* * *

_~CGA_


End file.
